DESCRIPTION: The investigators propose to test the feasibility of developing a transparent scintillator based on lutetium aluminum garnet (cerium doped) for dental X-ray radiography, as further described by their abstract: "We propose to develop a digital radiography sensor, based on an epitaxially deposited layer of lutetium aluminum garnet (Lu3Al5O12, LuAG) activated with tripositive cerium. The technology for depositing high-quality layers of similar materials (notably Nd-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) has already been developed for laser and other demanding optical applications. Moreover, the spectroscopic and scintillation properties of LuAG3 single crystals has already been investigated and found appropriate. This material has a density of 6.7 g/cm3 and a smooth absorption (free of K edges) between 10 and 64 keV, better than CsI or Gd2O2S, the conventional standards, and has ideal characteristics for a match to dental X-ray sources. The thickness of the detector layer will be between 100 and 200 microns, and Phase I will seek to confirm the fabricability and scintillation performance of such epitaxial films. Beyond Phase I we see segmentation of the layer into independent picture elements, to eliminate crosstalk and maximize contrast and resolution, as the major challenge, but epitaxial technology may well offer unique advantages in achieving such segmentation. We believe that the proposed work will result in better X-ray scintillator materials than any now available." PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: NOT AVAILABLE